How Oscar Night Found Its Inner Drama Queen

The best dressed on the Oscars2019 red carpet went for volume and wild colour, shining metallics, capes, trains and have-your-eye-out shoulder features - and that was just the men.

The tone was set by Billy Porter within seconds of the red carpet opening. Looking like the gothic baddie from a film that doesn’t exist, but should, the performance artist wore a Christian Siriano waisted black velvet tuxedo dress with a huge skirt and train which met with gasps, tears and applause on Twitter and Instagram. The mood of the Oscars 2019? Total drama queen.

It kept up all night – as it should in a good show. "Meh" was vanquished in favour of "ta-dah". The best dressed went for volume and wild colour, shining metallics, capes, trains and have-your-eye-out shoulder features. In the year that Black Panther won best costume design, there was an element of fantasy and superhero in the air – see Rachel Weisz’s scarlet latex capelet by Givenchy couture, Emma Stone’s bronze alien lizard queen dress by Louis Vuitton, Emilia Clarke’s lilac architectural column by Balmain, Jennifer Lopez and Brie Larson slick in metallic mirrored gowns by Hedi Slimane for Celine and Tom Ford, respectively, and Michelle Yeoh in glistening fairy queen garb by Elie Saab.

With volume turned up to 11, no fabric was skimped on in the making of this production. There were big dresses. Huge dresses. In a case of life imitating TV, Crazy Rich Asians’ Gemma Chan went full Killing EveVillanelle in shocking pink voluminous Valentino couture – with extra kudos for pockets. Helen Mirren and Sarah Paulson also did the big pink.

Dramatic colour really worked this year, with a clutch of vivid reds alongside those pinks, and Constance Wu’s Versace gown looking set to earn her a spot in the Oscars' yellow hall of fame alongside Michelle Williams and Renée Zellweger. Spike Lee and Bohemian Rhapsody’s Lucy Boynton were both talking points in purple. Stephan James in red custom Etro with on-trend white Cuban boots was a stand out. Coloured velvet was also the choice for Chris Evans in blue, and Jason Momoa in pink Fendi by Karl Lagerfeld, with extra points for the matching scrunchie worn on his wrist (save it for later).

Black, though, has never lookedblacker. This was not the kind of black that fades into the background. The Morticia Addams silhouettes were architectural and delicious – Lady Gaga’s statement Alexander McQueen, Irina Shayk in Burberry with gold fringing, Ashley Graham in Zac Posen and Alison Janney in plunging Pamela Rolland all had va-va-voom for years.

It was hard to spot a dress without atrain – from Best Supporting Actress Regina King’s white Oscar de la Renta toCharlize Theron’s exceptional powder blue Dior Haute Couture backless gown andJennifer Hudson’s one-shouldered red Elie Saab, everyone seemed to want a substantial amount of material trailing in their wake. Even Chadwick Boseman’s wide-legged, sequined Givenchy suit and Nicolas Hoult’s Dior tuxedo jacket came with extra swish.

Regal capes were another motif – onboth the eccentric-granny floral gown worn by Maya Rudolph and MelissaMcCarthy's white caped shirt. Front-runner Glenn Close may have ultimately failed to pick up Best Actress, but in a gold trained Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera gown, she certainly looked like she’d come to win. The actual winner, Olivia Colman, meanwhile trailed metres of forest green fabric behind her, thanks to fashion’s own queen, Miuccia Prada. That was all the majesty required for one of the Oscars most dramatic nights.